


Dine and Whine

by CardboarianNights



Series: Jesse and Gabe Short Stories [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Can be romantic or platonic, Gabe shares a story about the Strike Team with Jesse, M/M, Seems like it would be dark but it goes anywhere but there, cooking good meals, have good meals with those you care about, slice-of-life in Blackwatch, team as a family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9489947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CardboarianNights/pseuds/CardboarianNights
Summary: Gabriel promises that he'll make homemade tortilla shells if Jesse keeps the mission quiet and it pays off in more ways than Jesse expects by his boss telling him a little more about his time during the Omnic Crisis during dinner, post-op.





	

“Man! This sure is fine grub, ain’t it, Gabe?” Jesse drawls as he and Reyes sit opposite of each other at one of the small, square tables closest to the kitchen where the two of them worked in tandem to make some mean Mexican after coming back from their mission. Reyes promised the twenty-five year old hand made tortilla shells if he could do the mission without having it go loud since it was about fifty-fifty at that point, even with all their stealth equipment and a professional hacker working alongside them.

Jesse ended up helping him make the tortilla, more as an excuse to stand so closely to the man he admired in the tiny kitchen while they worked their collective magic on the flour to make it delicious shells for their meals. He never had a lick of Latin blood in him but came to really enjoy cooking alongside Gabriel ever since he was plucked out of Deadlock and dropped into the covert ops that wrecked his old gang to splinters; Good riddance too.

“Mm. You’re actually getting decent at cooking. Maybe you won’t burn the meat next time, if we’re lucky?” Gabriel poked at Jesse as he picked up another shell and started tossing refried beans, lettuce, tomato, and the meat filling along with the rest of the works before taking a bite from it. 

The guy had one hell of an appetite that made Jesse feel a lot more comfortable eating however much he wanted back when he joined up and wasn’t sure what the pecking order was in terms of food. Basically, you could eat whatever you wanted at the table but Gabe would look at you funny if you tried to keep pace with him. Damn, super soldier serum took all the fun out of eating contests because Jesse could never compete on his boss’ level and it was no fun competing if Reyes wasn’t in the running.

Jesse scowled at his snickering boss and lightly kicked his boot under the table while getting around to making himself his fifth taco (Gabe was probably on number eight, if he had been paying attention). “Pretty sure you’re the one who likes it a little crispy anyways, Boss. Certainly hasn’t slowed you down one bit.” He smirked as he felt Reyes boot him lightly in return while the man rolled his eye and took another bite.

“As if I would waste food because it was burnt, McCree.” Reyes shot back.

“Not with the amount of time that goes into preparing the ridiculous amount you eat to keep yer figure pretty.” Jesse sighed enviously before patting the very thin layer of fat he had over his six pack under his grey Blackwatch hoodie. “I wish I could eat that much, Boss.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes once more before working on preparing taco number ten while Jesse was dramatic as always. “Wasn’t as much fun in the Crisis, that’s for sure.” He grumbled lightly as he added an extra amount of lettuce and diced tomatoes to his taco to bulk it up.

Jesse finished chewing and swallowing taco number five as he looked up at Reyes in surprise. The guy never really talked about his role in the Omnic Crisis that wasn’t obvious or stated in numerous TV interviews at the time (Jesse watched them all) and everyone in Blackwatch knew it was a sore spot to never bring up unless Reyes did, which was extremely rare outside of tactics. He leaned forward a bit, very interested but quickly started working on taco number six to cover it up in case Reyes got too intimidated and wanted to bail. “Yeah? The UN didn’t account for super soldier nutritional needs?” Jesse asked casually.

Reyes took a bite from the end of his taco, munching on it slowly as his mind seemed elsewhere for a bit. Maybe deciding if he really wanted to let Jesse in on his struggles during the Crisis or not? It would make sense since Reyes seemed to pride himself on being this unbreakable wall of a commander to Blackwatch, their very own Stonewall. Eventually, Reyes sighed and looked up at Jesse as he set his taco down on his plate, still folded over with one prominent bite on the end.

“There’s a reason why only Jack and I are the only super soldiers that really managed to make it big while SEP, in general, was regarded as a massive failure overall; Starvation and caloric upkeep costs were part of the huge problem, and it almost got us killed out on the frontlines during the Crisis.” Gabriel explained calmly. “No one should ever go hungry on the frontlines, right? It was why the strike team was so small and forced us, on numerous occasions, to fall back on basic gorilla warfare tactics, lots of ‘hit and run’ ops; We couldn’t afford a situation where we would get pinned down for days because Jack and I would probably get incapacitated by fucking hunger of all things than an injury. Healing factors don’t come without high maintenance costs, McCree, and eating a lot was the cheapest way to keep it relatively affordable.”

Jesse nodded his head in understanding as he continued to eat while Gabriel continued to talk, not wanting to interrupt his commander with questions or anything while he told his story.

“There were a few close calls where rations did get low for Jack and I but we had enough understanding of our bodies to push what we could out of them without becoming burdens in a prolonged firefight. Riding the edge of madness brought on by hunger by taking a few bites of a protein bar every thirty minutes to keep the shakes at bay and also keeping Amari from pulling rank.” Gabriel sighed heavily as he brought a palm to his forehead while his head drooped downwards from the recollection. Jesse definitely could sympathize with him on that one since Amari pretty much stuffed food down his throat when he joined Overwatch before being integrated into Blackwatch as a full-time agent.

Jesse chuckled nervously as the realization hit him. “Was the reason you guys had to fight like you did during the Omnic Crisis cause everyone went mother hen on you two if the team got pinned down?”

“Yes…” Reyes groaned in embarrassment as he dragged his hand over his face. “Amari and Wilhelm were the absolute worst; Trying to sneak their rations into our bags as if Jack and I didn’t count our rations every time we opened our bags for that goddamn reason alone! ‘Oh! You two look like you need a little boost! Have half of my bar!’ and THEN if you took them up on it, they wait until you finished eating it before shoving the other half in your face by saying that they ‘weren’t hungry after all’! I swear to fucking god!!” Reyes lightly slammed his fist on the table as he pressed his forehead into his free hand while groaning incredulously.

Jesse had to resist the urge to coo and tease his commander because he did go out of his way to tell him a more personal account of the Omnic Crisis that he likely never told anyone else before. “And here I thought you were settin’ me up to tell me a story of a heroic tale of sacrifice so the two super soldiers I knew today would still be walkin’ amongst the livin’.” He spoke instead. “It’s nice to hear that the team watched out for you both, Commander. I probably would be passing you my rations as well, if I was in the same situation as them.”

Gabriel lifted his head up, grinning like a snake as he gently grabbed the ends of the ratty table cloth to pull the bowls of filled with food closer to him. “Well, now, if you’re feeling that generous, Jesse McCree…”

Jesse instantly latched onto the other side of table cloth and tried to look like he wasn’t exerting himself as he countered that fake smile of Gabe’s with his own. “Pretty sure this ain’t the Omnic Crisis, Boss. Someone has to make sure that waist of yer’s doesn’t inflate along with the food budget but, yer always more than welcome to go back to protein bars!”

Gabe threw his head back and barked out a laugh at that, throwing Jesse off for a moment as they both ceased their ‘tug of war’ game with the tablecloth that surely wouldn’t survive a serious match between the two gluttons. Jesse felt relieved as he watched Gabriel pick up his taco once more to resume eating and smiled as he started spooning the goods onto his sixth tortilla shell before calling it quits after finishing it. He was more than content to just sit back and talk to Reyes as other vultures from Blackwatch started dishing themselves once Reyes was out on his eleventh taco. Of course Reyes dragged the vultures back to wash all the plates and pans for them before he and McCree went out to smoke the rest of the night upstairs.


End file.
